A new Kickstarter campaign is trending - Skreens promotes a device that lets TV viewers watch as many as four different video sources on one screen.
To achieve that, you need to plug the TV to a tiny box called NexusTwo or NexusFour. The gizmo brings together HDMI video sources from streaming TV, broadcast, TV, game consoles or any other input that is compatible. This actually allows a user to finish watching a movie, keep current with the news and see how his family is doing in the Mario Kart Sunday championship, and do it all at once.
The Boston-located company reports that its device hosts the right hardware to smoothly combine signals and streams onto one display. The processor is a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore backed by 4GB RAM, and the video processor enables multiple contents to be enjoyed seamlessly.
The name of the device is self-explicit: NexusTwo comes with three HDMI ports, two inputs with one output, and NexusFour brings four inputs and one output. The creators of NexusTwo point out that a (theoretical infinite) chain of devices may be linked one to another, putting this in the field of engineering challenges.
"[The] new, proprietary and wildly powerful microchip" makes Skreens boast that it has the capacity to bring in one place HD streams in "almost unlimited" numbers, all in one interface. The highly customizable app allows windows from various devices as well as web.
The company already drafts scenarios where this might be helpful. Gamers who need a walkthrough window parallel to the gaming or social media addicts who want to see all their accounts neatly aligned. Sports fans that enjoy watching the game and playing a fantasy version of it are also targeted by the manufacturer.
The producers though about the audio experience as well. Users are able to choose the audio channel via HDMI and optical S/PDIF outputs, while other audio sources come as streaming output via Wi-Fi. Users can also receive audio streaming channels from NexusTwo and listen to it on headphones. Skreens understands that another remote to the coffee table would be unwelcome, so it created an app for Android and iOS, and a browser-like program for computers.
Backers of the startup will see the product on sale in December, and the prognosis for meeting the deadline is optimistic.
The standard price for NexusTwo is $200, but early bids lower that number to $179, while NexusFour costs $350 but an early bidder can get one for $325.
